On the move
Lapa crawl
Bars and live samba
- Length4 hours
- DrinksTasting included
- Late stopOptional
Pick-for-me guide
Choosing a Rio de Janeiro nightlife tour, from crawls to samba
Summary
A Rio de Janeiro nightlife tour can be a Lapa bar crawl, a samba night at Pedra do Sal, a seated show or a class, so choose by the music you want and how much you like to move.
Choosing essentials
Two questions, one night out
Which Rio night out is yours
Say how you like to spend an evening and what you want to hear, and a night out appears with its starting price.
Best match for you
The Lapa crawl with cachaça
from $33
4 hours in Lapa: a cachaça tasting, a caipirinha under the Arches, live samba bars and a club.
Best match for you
Pedra do Sal samba night
from $43
2.5 hours at the old samba square with an English-speaking guide, for up to 10 guests.
Best match for you
Copacabana bars and nightclubs
from $30
4 hours through the bars and clubs of Copacabana with a guide.
Best match for you
Rio Scenarium with dinner
from $115
3 hours with dinner, an open bar and live Brazilian music in a landmark hall.
Best match for you
Beginner samba lesson
from $25
1 hour in Ipanema for up to 10 people, before you head out.
A Rio de Janeiro nightlife tour can mean a bar crawl, a samba circle in the street, a seated show or a class before the music. This guide sorts them by music, pace and the kind of traveller each fits.
Editorial team, lapapubcrawl.click · Updated November 11, 2026 · 7 mins to read
Basics
- The Lapa crawlThe Lapa crawl with a cachaça tasting has 1,060 reviews.
- Street sambaA guided Pedra do Sal samba night costs from $43.
- Learn firstA beginner samba lesson in Ipanema lasts 1 hour, from $25.
- Seated eveningRio Scenarium with dinner and open bar starts from $115.
- LGBTQ+ nightA 4-hour LGBTQ+ nightlife tour costs from $61.
What a Rio de Janeiro nightlife tour can be
A Rio de Janeiro nightlife tour is not one product but a family of them. Some walk you from bar to bar, some sit you down for a show, some take you to a street where samba is played in a circle, and some start with a class and end on a dance floor. They share one idea: a guide or host who turns an unfamiliar city after dark into a plan you can follow, with company along the way.
The best way to choose is to start with the music you want to hear and the pace you enjoy. A crawl moves every hour or so, which suits restless people and solo travellers who want to meet others. A seated show or a dinner evening suits couples and anyone who would rather keep one table all night. A class suits those who want to dance properly later in the week instead of watching from the edge.
Price rarely decides it alone. At the low end sit caipirinha workshops from $16, while a seated evening with dinner reaches $115 and beyond. In between sit the crawls, mostly from $20 to $35, which bundle a guide, a route and a few drinks into one booking, and save you the work of finding each venue on your own.
Every night out
Rio night-out products at a glance
| Product | Music | Length | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lapa crawl with cachaça | Live samba | 4 hours | $33 |
| Pedra do Sal samba night | Street samba | 2.5 hours | $43 |
| Rocinha baile funk crawl | Funk | 8 hours | $33 |
| LGBTQ+ nightlife tour | Mixed | 4 hours | $61 |
| Rio Scenarium with dinner | Live bands | 3 hours | $115 |
| Samba and folklore show | Staged samba | 1.5 hours | $77 |
| Caipirinha and samba class | Class and DJs | 2 hours | $18 |
Starting prices on GetYourGuide, not quotes; anything beyond the listed inclusions is extra.
The Lapa bar crawl and its rivals
Lapa is where the classic crawl happens. The listing sold on this site spends 4 hours in the district, from a cachaça bar with a tasting, through a cocktail at the Carioca Aqueduct and a guided stop at the Selarón steps, to bars with live concerts and an optional later bar stop. It has 1,060 reviews averaging 4.7, with the guides rated 4.8. For a first Lapa bar crawl, that is a long and reassuring track record.
A second Lapa crawl is listed from $25 for 3.5 to 4 hours, with 42 reviews averaging 4.8. Its route opens with a quick spirits stop before 3 bars where bands play, and one of its 2 starting points is the Cantagalo metro station in Copacabana. That makes it an easy choice if you are staying near the beach and would rather set off with the group than find your own way to Lapa.
A third option reaches Lapa from the other direction: a Santa Teresa tram tour with the Selarón steps and Lapa runs 4 hours from $71 and includes pick-up, with 639 reviews. It is a sightseeing tour rather than a night out, but you can pair it with a crawl on another day, seeing the steps by daylight first and returning after dark when the district wakes up.
Guest numbers
Reviews behind each kind of night out
- Samba lesson1,319
- Lapa crawl1,060
- Samba show365
- Pedra do Sal night212
- Caipirinha workshop165
- Rio Scenarium133
Guest review counts per listing on GetYourGuide, taken from our records.
Samba nights at Pedra do Sal and in the port
Pedra do Sal, in the old port district, is a street rather than a venue, and its samba circles draw a crowd that spills across the stones. A guided samba night there costs from $43 for 2.5 hours, led in English, for groups of at most 10 participants. It has 212 reviews averaging 4.5. The appeal is simple: you hear samba where it is played for locals, with someone beside you to explain what is going on.
Two Pedra do Sal crawls add bars to the music. One costs from $25 for 3 hours with 73 reviews, the other from $35 for 3 hours with a cap of 10 participants. A longer samba night of 4 hours with 1 free caipirinha starts and ends at the Largo de São Francisco da Prainha. Each suits people who care more about live samba in the open air than about clubs.
If you are nervous about dancing, one product starts with a lesson. A samba class followed by a night out lasts 5 hours from $46: an hour of class in Copacabana, then a car to either Rio Scenarium or Pedra do Sal. Arriving with a few steps already in your feet changes how a samba circle feels, from watching to joining in.
Styles of night
Different nights in Rio
Open air
Pedra do Sal night
Samba in the street
- Length2.5 hours
- GuideEnglish
- GroupSmall group
Seated
Rio Scenarium
Dinner and open bar
- Length3 hours
- FoodDinner included
- PickupAvailable
Seated shows and dinner evenings
Some nights are better spent in one place. Rio Scenarium stands at Rua do Lavradio, 20 in the Centro, and Riotur says it receives about 2,000 people at weekends, with shows ranging from MPB to samba, forró and gafieira.2,3 A listed evening there bundles entry, dinner over 3 courses and 3 hours of open bar from $115, with tips left out of the price.
That evening has 133 reviews averaging 4.1, below the 4.7 of the Lapa crawl. Reviews of a big venue reflect the crowds and the service as much as the music, and weekend nights there are busy. If you want the music without the dinner package, the crawls and samba nights get you into live samba for less, and you choose your own food along the way.
A staged samba and folklore show in Rio lasts 1.5 hours from $77, with 365 reviews averaging 4.6. It is a theatrical choice: costumes, choreography and a seat with a good view. It suits families and anyone who wants a shorter evening: a seat at a staged show gives a taste of carnival dance without a late finish in a crowded bar.
Group cost
Night-out cost for your party
Pick a night out, add your party size and read the starting total.
Side-by-side: 4 options
Night-out cost for your party
Pick a night out, add your party size and read the starting total.
- Lapa crawl4 hours, cachaça · starts at, per person $33
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View - Pedra do Sal night2.5 hours, samba · starts at, per person $43
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View - Samba lesson1 hour, Ipanema · starts at, per person $25
≈
View - Rio ScenariumDinner, open bar · starts at, per person $115
≈
View
Starting prices as on the booking platform, converted at the ECB reference rate. You see the exact price at booking.
One long night
How a full Rio evening can unfold
Late afternoon
Samba lesson
A beginner class in Ipanema takes 1 hour.
Early evening
Caipirinha practice
A workshop teaches the drink before you order it.
After dinner
Lapa crawl begins
A cachaça tasting and a class at the first bar.
Later on
Live samba bars
Bars with live concerts follow on the crawl.
Late
Optional last stop
A later bar stop with a concert, marked optional.
Classes before you go out
A class is the cheapest way to change your night. In Ipanema, a beginners' samba lesson takes 1 hour from $25, with the group limited to 10 participants, and it has 1,319 reviews averaging 4.9. Another samba class in Copacabana or Ipanema runs 1 hour from $25 with 339 reviews. Either fits neatly into an afternoon before a crawl.
Caipirinha workshops teach the national cocktail before you order it in a bar. One in Copacabana lasts 2 hours from $18: you make and drink 2 caipirinhas and then take a 1-hour samba class with a local professional teacher. A shorter workshop with a funk dance class lasts 1.5 hours from $16. Both are relaxed, social and good value for people who learn by doing.
Pairing a class with a crawl works well. Learn the basic step in the early evening, eat, and meet the crawl guide later with a little confidence. The Lapa crawl itself has a class in its first hour, at the cachaça bar where the night begins, which means even a single booking gives you a taste of both.
Video
A party guide to Rio: Ipanema, Lapa and Copacabana
Swedish Gringo on YouTube · The video stays unloaded until you press play.
Lapa, one of the city's postcards, draws Rio residents and Brazilian and foreign tourists in search of cold beer, a carioca atmosphere and plenty of good music.
Choosing well
Before you book a night out
Ask yourself3
- Do I want a group, a partner night or a crowd?
- Which music do I most want to hear?
- How late do I really want to stay out?
Check the listing3
- The cancellation line and how far ahead it applies
- Which drinks the price covers
- Where it starts and whether pickup is included
On the night3
- Keep your phone and card out of sight
- Agree a meeting point if you get separated
- Book a ride home from inside the venue
A baile funk night and what official advice says
Baile funk is the party sound of Rio's own neighbourhoods, loud, fast and made for dancing. One listing combines a pub crawl with a favela party in Rocinha: 8 hours in all, starting at Boteco Belmonte, with local bars and a hostel rooftop before a van to the party, which officially starts around 2:00 AM. A guide can help you book a ride if you leave early.
Weigh that night against official advice. The UK government's travel advice says to stay out of all favelas, and it names favela tours sold to tourists and bars said to be inside a favela in that warning.4 Canada's advice also warns that robberies can happen in all tourist areas of Rio, naming Lapa, Santa Teresa and Copacabana beach.5 Official advice is written for safety, not for fun, and it is worth reading in full before you choose a night like this.
The listing has 12 reviews averaging 4.7, a small number beside the crawls in Lapa. The Lapa crawl, by contrast, stays in the busy streets of the centre: its itinerary lists bars with live concerts and an optional later bar stop, not a funk party.
LGBTQ+ nights and choosing your evening
An LGBTQ+ nightlife tour with a local guide lasts 4 hours from $61, in English, with the group limited to 8 participants and 7 reviews averaging 4.8. Brazil allows same-sex marriage, the UK advice points out, and Rio's Pride events are usually very peaceful.6 A separate guide on this site covers the bars, beaches and nights of the scene in detail.
To choose between all of these, start with three questions. Do you want to move or to sit? Do you want samba, funk or a mix? Are you alone or with a partner or friends? Movers who want a mix pick a crawl, samba lovers pick Pedra do Sal, sitters pick a show or Rio Scenarium, and nervous dancers start with a class.
You do not have to pick only one. Rio's nights are long and varied, and a week in the city can hold a class, a crawl, a samba circle and a quiet evening of live music. Book the one you most want first, keep the free cancellation in mind, and let the first night tell you what to do with the next. A guided first night also shows you the way back to the streets you liked, on your own.
FAQ
Quick questions get quick answers.
How many guests have reviewed the Lapa crawl?
1,060 so far.
Its 1,060 reviews average 4.7, with the guides scored at 4.8.
Is there a nightlife tour for solo travellers?
Any crawl works well.
A crawl walks a group between bars with a guide; the Lapa one lasts 4 hours.
Where can I hear samba in the street?
At Pedra do Sal.
A guided samba night there lasts 2.5 hours, from $43, with up to 10 guests.
Can I learn samba before going out?
Yes, in an hour.
A beginner lesson in Ipanema runs 1 hour from $25 and has 1,319 reviews.
Is a favela party tour a good idea?
Read the official advice first.
UK travel advice says to keep out of favelas, tours sold to visitors included.4
Is there an LGBTQ+ night tour in Rio?
Yes, in English.
The tour lasts 4 hours from $61, with a local guide and up to 8 guests.
What is the cheapest night activity?
A caipirinha workshop.
A workshop with a funk class starts from $16 for 1.5 hours.
Sources
- Riotur, Rio de Janeiro city tourism (riotur.rio) · Tour Lapa e Santa Teresa
- Riotur, Rio de Janeiro city tourism (riotur.rio) · Informacoes uteis / Useful information ↩
- Riotur, Rio de Janeiro city tourism (riotur.rio) · Rio Scenarium ↩
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (gov.uk) · Brazil travel advice: safety and security ↩
- Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca) · Travel advice and advisories for Brazil ↩
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (gov.uk) · Brazil travel advice: safety and security ↩